Mangaluru, Jun 25: A brief dalliance on Facebook left a homemaker poorer by over Rs 16 lakh as she battled repeated calls from her “overseas friend” and the “customs office” seeking money to clear a huge gift that never came.
A case has been registered at the cyber police station. Police said a few months ago, Reshma from Attavara received a friend request from a man named Jack Coleman. She didn’t know who he was but accepted it and after introducing themselves, the duo began chatting regularly. By May, they became friends and Coleman said he wished to make a gift of £20,000 (over Rs 18 lakh) to her family. Reshma refused the gift but Coleman kept at it and pestered her into accepting the money.
On May 9, she received a call from another man who introduced himself as a customs official from New Delhi. He asked her to pay a fine on the consignment sent by Coleman. He said the package had violated several rules and warned her that she would be put behind bars if she did not pay. Reshma agreed and transferred the money via internet banking. She ended up paying Rs 16,69,000 in all.
She tried to contact Coleman and the offical but all numbers were switched off.
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